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February, 2008
What to Do If You Have Been Typecast, Part 3 of 3
It’s fairly obvious that safety professionals can do their careers a whole lot of good by staying away from being typecast. But what’s less apparent are the benefits you can reap by helping the members of your team avoid a similar fate.
Avoiding Typecasting Is a Team Effort
The best thing a leader can do to prevent [...]
The CIH Designation, Part 2 of 2
There are two primary professional designations for industrial hygienists in North America. Last week, we looked at the Canadian designation, the Registered Occupational Hygienist (ROH). Now let’s look at the U.S. counterpart, the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH).
What Do CIHs Do?
The field of industrial hygiene is devoted to the recognition, evaluation and control of workplace hazards [...]
The Art of Building the Business Case, Part 2 of 4
Through the years, I have discovered some tried and true methods for selling safety and health programs to management. But be warned: Implementing these principles is not for the faint-hearted. It requires craft, mettle and perseverance. And if your employers aren’t truly committed to safety, pressing the case aggressively could even cost you your job. [...]
When Recommendations Are Unrealistic, Part 2 of 3
The good news about health and safety committees is that they can engage all of the stakeholders in your workplace in the effort to identify and eliminate hazards. The bad news: Committees sometimes make recommendations that are unrealistic. What should you do if your committee writes a check that your company can’t cash?
Why You Can’t [...]
What to Do If You Have Been Typecast, Part 2 of 3
Being typecast, although not without its virtues, is something most professionals largely want to avoid. Let’s talk about how.
Make Subtle, Not Drastic Changes
Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Breaking free of a typecast role requires subtle enhancements of your current role and skill set rather than their complete abandonment. “Drastic change isn’t likely [...]
The ROH Designation, Part 1 of 2
There are more certifications for safety professionals than you can shake a stick at. This series will look at the North American certifications for industrial hygienists. Today, we’re going to look at the Canadian designation, the Registered Occupational Hygienist (ROH).
What Do ROHs Do?
Occupational hygienists study, anticipate and evaluate hazards in work environments. They suggest changes [...]
How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Safety and Love Statistics
When I first started as a safety supervisor, my motives were pure. All I wanted to do was help other people. My goal was to show fellow employees how to work safely. Hazards were my enemy and I swore never to let company “politics” lure me away from the pure and noble causes I was [...]
What to Do If You Have Been Typecast, Part 1 of 2
Jason Alexander (aka George Costanza from Seinfeld) is a great actor. But can you see him playing Hamlet? I mean the moment he started in with “To be or not to be,” I’d be thinking, “you tell ‘em, George!”
Such is the curse of typecasting. And the curse isn’t confined to the world of acting. There [...]
Overcoming Bad Influences
We safety people try our hardest to influence behavior constructively. But in trying to change behavior, we are fighting a lifetime of conditioned training. Most workers learn early the habits of hurrying, neglecting anything that slows production and ridiculing those who take due caution in their daily work habits. This conditioning is often reinforced by [...]
Building the Business Case, Part 1 of 4
It’s high time we all understood something vital about our profession: To protect our workers, we must be more than just safety technicians. We must also be business people. I’m here to tell you how.
A Dose of Reality
Employers are in business to do one thing: make money. If they don’t make money, they don’t stay [...]